Foundation spotlight: The Swedish Crown Princess Couple’s Foundation

“Our ambition is that all children and young people, regardless of the conditions, should grow up to be safe and strong individuals with a positive future belief.”

The well-being of Sweden’s youth is at the heart of the Crown Princess Couple’s Foundation, which was created in 2010 at the time of their wedding.

Realising how many well-wishers wanted to send them gifts, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel decided to form a foundation that could channel this positive energy to give back to the youth of Sweden for years to come.

The main focus of the foundation is to “counteract exclusion and promote good health for children and young people” and the organisation does this by financing, initiating, and shining a spotlight on projects throughout Sweden that promote these goals.

“Health and exclusion are closely linked and have a direct impact on each other,” the foundation’s website says. “The foundation of good habits is laid early in life and we, therefore, focus on increasing the opportunities for children and young people to establish a healthy life and a stronger sense of community.”

One of the ways the Crown Princess Couple helps with getting children active and healthy is Generation Pep, a project that encourages Swedish children to get moving and develop better eating habits.

According to the foundation, Sweden is one of Europe’s most sedentary countries and unfortunately, only a small number of their children are getting the recommended one hour of physical activity per day.

Swedish four-year-olds sit still for almost half of their waking time, for example, and only one in 10 Swedish children and young people eat enough vegetables and fruits.

One of the initiatives Generation Pep runs is Pep Day at Haga Park, which features Prince Daniel’s Race and Sports Day. The Prince awards medals to all children who participate, and Princess Estelle has run in the race for the past two years, too. For older kids and adults, the Haga Race is held, and other activities and sports such as skateboarding, tennis, yoga, and more give families the chance to get moving and have fun together.

The Crown Princess Couple’s Foundation also provides grants to various projects supporting their goals, such as the Homework Assistance Foundation, which employs college students to help high school students with homework and serve as positive role models and mentors. The organisation works to provide support at schools where the proportion who go on to high school is well below the national average.

In terms of structure, the Crown Princess Couple’s Foundation operates with a board, operating unit, and an expert council including CEOs, founders, professors and directors of organisations including The Global Village Foundation, Social Initiative, Center for Civil Society Research, Stockholm City Mission, and Fryshuset. A group of 12 partners helps the foundation to create a strong capital base so it can distribute grants and support more projects for young Swedes.

Find out more about the Crown Princess Couple’s Foundation or make a donation on their official website.